This application generally relates to interactive multimedia distribution systems and, more particularly, to presence detection and degradation in such systems.
Bandwidth is becoming a problem in the communications industry. As subscribers demand more and more content, higher definition services, interactive services, and data services, the existing network infrastructure has trouble supplying adequate bandwidth. The industry is hard at work identifying new ways of increasing bandwidth. The industry is also striving to reduce wasted bandwidth.
An “always on” set-top box is one example of wasted bandwidth. An “always on” set-top box continually receives content, even while no one is watching television. When the set-top box remains powered “on” and tuned to a channel, the set-top box consumes bandwidth. Often times, however, that channel is not watched and bandwidth is wasted. Many cable subscribers, for example, forget to, or are unable to, turn “off” their set-top box. Many subscribers power “off” the television, yet the set-top box remains powered “on” and receiving content. It's not uncommon for a set-top box to continually receive a video stream while the subscriber sleeps for hours and/or vacations for days. No one is watching the content, yet the set-top box is consuming three megabits or more per second of network bandwidth. This consumption may not be a significant problem in a broadcast network (such as a cable network). In a more focused delivery of content (such as in a multicast or unicast network), however, this consumption reduces the efficiency of the network. This consumption is not only a concern in shared networks (such as a broadband communications networks), but this consumption is also a concern for the subscriber's residential network. As digital content becomes more prevalent, the subscriber will maintain a residential network in their home, and bandwidth usage is important for efficient utilization of this residential network. Because both broadband communications networks and subscribers' residential networks need to efficiently utilize bandwidth, there is a need in the art for reducing bandwidth consumption while still preserving session connections.